Bletchley Park : Information Safehold

After our class visit to The National Museum of Computing some of us ventured on to Bletchley Park. The location of the codebreakers and all of the vital and top secret work that was done there echoes the value of relocating collections for safekeeping during times of conflict.

Heading towards the Mansion at Bletchley Park

Due to London being such a target, and this new tactic of fighting a war through decoding of messages and information, removing such work to the country was imperative.

The cultural and historical significance of the collections of museums, libraries, and archives that were moved to remote locations elsewhere in the UK mirrors this concept of removing what is deemed high-priority from high risk zones.

Approaching the Mansion across the lawn

The top secret nature of what went on at Bletchley Park during the war echoes how the stores of collections were kept secret so as to increase their safety in case of invasion.

The Library and Archives at Bletchley Park itself has also provided for a very enriching experience for its contemporary visitors. The oral histories, reproduced images, and exhibitions create an atmosphere that allows us to image what the lives were like for those who were either stationed or traveled to this safer location for such high-priority secret work.

Comments

A Golden Afternoon: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

"You can learn a lot of things from the flowers, Especially in the month of June..." "All In The Golden Afternoon" from Disney's 'Alice in Wonderland' After a journey on the train we all arrived at Kew 's Library, Art & Archives, housed just down the road from an entrance into the gardens. We were led by the Head of Library, Art & Archives, Fiona Ainsworth who informed us that the library itself is 165 years old and holds: over 185,000 monographs 150,000 pamphlets and reprints 5,000 periodicals over 20,000 maps 200,000 prints and drawings 7 million sheets of paper She went on to say she and her team of 20 are moving towards digitizing the collection to make it more accessible, which would be wonderful because the items she showed us were wonderful! Ms. Ainsworth explained how a single botanical illustration holds so much value because it contains all scientific aspects of a specimen through multiple stages of it

British Museum Archives

Entrance to the British Museum On a drizzly Tuesday morning we made our way to The British Museum where we were met by Archivist, Francesca Hillier. She gave us a very in-depth tour of a space that has not be open to the public for quite some time. Due to its standing as an historical building, no alterations can be made, therefore Ms. Hillier and her staff are focussed on working with the space in the most efficient and practical way possible. Shelves, desks, lighting, etc. must all remain as they are which may be somewhat frustrating but some aspects that must remain are really special. For example, there are hidden doorways disguised as books shelves as the entrance to stairs to get from the lower to upper level! Inside the British Museum Library and Archives which is closed to the public Fun Fact: The British Museum used to house The British Library before the 1990s. Recently, Ms. Hillier discovered mold in the lower levels of the storerooms of the archives so there

Rovings and Ramblings of V

Search This Blog